You can become a British citizen by:

 

1. Birth or Decent (respectively, know as ‘British citizenship, otherwise

than by decent’ & ‘British citizenship by decent’). 

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2. Applying for naturalisation- the 5 year route

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3.  Applying for naturalisation through marriage

 

 

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1. British Citizenship By Birth & Decent

 

 

Children under the age of 18 can receive British citizenship by birth or

through a number of specific circumstances.

 

Children Born in The UK:

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Children Born  in The UK  to a British or Settled Parent:

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Children born in the UK, where at the time of their birth, either parent

was a British citizen, will automatically be entitled to their British

citizenship. To be eligible, at least one of your parents must have held

British nationality or settled status at the time of your birth. Settled

status encompasses both indefinite leave to remain status (for non-

EEA nationals) and permanent residence status (for EEA and Swiss

nationals). 

 

An exception to the above rule are children born before 1st July 2006,

if born to unmarried parents, where at the time of the child’s birth in

the UK, the father was a British citizen or settled person in the UK,

whilst the mother was not. Such persons are not automatically

entitled to their British citizenship but possess instead, the entitlement

to register as a British citizen. See below for more details. 

 

 

Children born to Subsequently Settled or Naturalised Parents:

 

Children born to a settled parent with indefinite leave to remain or

permanent residence status, who are applying to naturalise as British

citizens, are also entitled to register as British citizens too. This is the

case, whether children are born before their parents have acquired

their indefinite leave to remain status. 

 

*It should be noted that only individuals aged 18 or above can in fact naturalise as British citizens. Therefore, you will be applying for the ‘registration’ of your children as British citizens. 

 

 

Eligibility To Do This:

 

The child must also had indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

 

If your child is aged 13 or over, they will also need to have been living

in the UK for at least 2 years prior to the application being made.

 

If your child is over the age of 10, The Home Office must also be

satisfied that the child is of ‘good character’. 

 

 

Children Born to Non- British Parents or Non-Settled Parents At The

Time of  Their Birth:

 

As a general rule, children born inside the UK, where at the time of

their birth neither parents were British citizens or settled in the UK, are

not born British citizens. Such children will automatically be

recognised as dependents, and subject to the same visa rules and

controls as their parents. 

 

They may however, register to become a British citizen, once, one

parent has obtained settled status in the UK.  There are also a

number of additional criteria, by which such persons can register to

become British citizens. 

 

Children Born In The UK - Who may be entitled  to the right to be

registered as  British citizens:

 

There is also a number of criteria under The British Nationality Act

1981, under which children may have the entitlement to register as

British citizens. 

 

For example, as discussed above, if the child was born in the UK- they

may have the right to become a British citizen, if either of their parents subsequently becomes a British Citizen or acquires settled status in

the UK, whilst they are under 18 years of age and can satisfy the

“good character” requirement (if they are aged 10 or over).

 

Children born in the UK, may also possess the right to become British

citizens, if they have lived in the UK for the first 10 years of their life,

with no absences more than 90 days in any one year, and can satisfy

the “good character” requirement if they are aged 10 or over.

 

Children born in the UK may also have the right to become British

citizens if they have always been ‘stateless’, and have lived in the UK

for the last 5 years and are under 22 years of age at the date of the

application, with no absences from the UK, of more than 450 days

within that 5 year period.

 

Children Born Outside The UK:

 

Children Born To A British Or Settled Parent:

 

You cannot automatically pass on British citizenship to any child born

outside the UK, however, children born outside the UK, where either

parent was a British citizen (by birth, naturalisation, registration or

adoption), at the time of the child’s birth, will automatically be deemed

‘British citizens by decent’, and will be entitled to register as British

citizens. 

 

Children Not Born To A British Or Settled Parent:

 

Children born outside the UK, not born to a British or settled person at

the time of their birth, will neither automatically acquire British

citizenship, or the entitlement to register as British under The British Nationality Act 1981. The Home Office, however, may still have the

discretion to register such children as British citizens. 

 

Consideration will be made as to whether the child is settled in the UK

and whether the child’s future lies in the UK, whether the parents live

in the UK, whether at least one parent has subsequently acquired

British citizenship or settled status, or is in the process of applying for citizenship themselves and whether the other parent is unlikely to be

required to leave the UK. If 10 years old or over, the child will also need

to satisfy the ‘Good character’ requirement.  

 

 

* It should be noted that the Home Office’s discretion to register any

child as a British citizen is wide. Therefore, it may be possible to apply

to register your child for British citizenship, even if your case does not

meet all the Home Office’s published guidelines. For example, if your

child was born outside the UK, but came to the UK at a young age or

has resided in the UK for a lengthy period of time and meets other

relevant criteria. This is the case even if they have not acquired the

right of indefinite leave to remain in the UK. 

 

 

Children Born Outside Marriage, before 1st July 2006, 

Whose

Right to British Citizenship Depends On The Citizenship or

Settled

Status of Their Father:

 

Children born before 1st July 2006, to fathers who are British citizens

or settled persons,  but to mothers who are not, where both  parents

were un- married, will not automatically be born  British citizens, but

will instead have an entitlement to register as a British citizen. This

rule is applicable, even if the child was born in the UK.  Under previous

law, such children, could not acquire citizenship on the basis of their

British or settled father, if their parents were unmarried.  As it stands,

children born in or outside the UK, and outside of marriage, before 1st

July 2006, to a British citizen or settled father can register by

entitlement if they are not otherwise a British citizen. Satisfactory

evidence in relation to the paternity of the child will need to be

provided. 

 

Children born after 1st July 2006, can now automatically acquire

citizenship through their British or settled father, whether or not their

parents are married. 

 

It should be noted, however, if at the time of a child’s birth the mother

is married to another individual other than the child’s biological father,

the mother’s husband is regraded as the ‘father’ for the purposes of

UK nationality law. This is the case, even if it is established that the

mother’s husband is not biologically related to the child. Such cases

are complex, and will require a full investigation of the particular circumstances of the case. 

 

 

2.About Naturalisation & the 5 year Route 

 

This is the process by which you can apply to become a British citizen. 

 

Eligibility Requirements for Naturalisation/ (becoming a British

national):

 

After 5 years of continuous residence in the UK, you may apply for

indefinite leave to remain. 

 

Having an indefinite leave to remain status (permanent residence or

EU settled status) will provide you the right to live and work and study

in the UK free from immigration controls. Once a subsequent 12

month period has elapsed, you may then apply for British nationality/ naturalisation.  You must possess Indefinite leave to remain or EU

settled status before you can become a British Citizen. 

 

Naturalising will accede you the full rights and responsibilities of a

British Citizen, including the right to vote in parliamentary and local

elections, and obtain a British passport. 

 

You will need to satisfy the following requirements:

 

• Be aged 18 or older at the time of your application.

• You need to have acquired Indefinite Leave to Remain, (having

been lawfully resident in the UK for a continuous period of up to 5

years).

• You must have held your indefinite leave to remain status/ EU

settled status for at least 12 months prior to you application.

•  You should not have been absent from the UK for more than 450

days in the five years preceding your application and not more than

90 days in the final 12 months. 

•  You must be of good character- not holding any severe or recent

criminal record, including offences committed overseas, and any

immigration related overseas offences. 

•  You must have passed the Life in the UK Test.

•  You must satisfy an English language requirement.

•  You must not have breached any immigration rules.

 

One your permanent residence request is approved, you can live, work

and study in the UK permanently without any immigration restrictions.

See 'British Naturalisation' page for more detail.  

 

3.Naturalisation By Marriage

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If you are married to (or in a civil partnership with) a British citizen,

you may be able to take advantage of a shorter qualifying period.Thus

you will qualify to apply for British citizenship if you have spent three

years continuous residence in the UK as a settled person, (holding

indefinite leave to remain /  EU settled status/ permanent residence

status).  You are also able to apply for naturalisation immediately

after acquiring you Indefinite Leave to Remain status in the UK. 

 

In addition to  the shorter residency requirement of 3 years, the

residency conditions under this route differ slightly from the general naturalisation requirements. Therefore, to meet the required residency

conditions, applicants must not have spent more than 270 days

outside the UK during the three-year qualifying period before your

application or more than 90 days abroad in the last 12 months before

their application.

 

You will also need to satisfy the following requirements:

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•  Be aged 18 or older at the time of your application.

•  You must be of good character- not holding any severe or recent

criminal record, including offences. committed overseas, and any

immigration elated overseas offences.

•  Spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the three-year

qualifying period before your application.

•  Spent more than 90 days abroad in the last 12 months before you

submit your forms.

•  Not broken any UK immigration law at any time during your

residency in the UK.

•  You must have passed the ‘Life in the UK Test’.

•  You must satisfy an English language requirement.

 

 

 

How We Can Help:

 

•  We possess comprehensive nationality legal experience, and

expertise in handling of complex nationality cases. 

 

•  We will consider all aspects of your individual case.

 

•  Should you require the Home Office to exercise discretion in relation

to your application because you do not meeting all the necessary of

the requirements, we are equipped to establish the strength of your connections to the UK, and can advise you further on what expert

evidence may be required.